City of Spokane selects Rubicon Global for waste tracking initiative

Rubicon Global, an Atlanta-based provider of waste, recycling and smart city solutions to businesses and governments, has announced that the city of Spokane, Washington, has selected the company in a competitive bid process for a new three-year contract to provide smart city solutions to help benefit its citizens and businesses in 189,000 service locations across the city.

Starting in December, the city of Spokane will begin using the RUBICONSmartCity platform, which includes a tablet-based mobile app, a plug-in device and a web-based portal. The technology will allow the city’s Solid Waste Collection utility to track key metrics, including service confirmations, missed pickups, landfill diversion and recycling rates, leading to more efficient operations and, ultimately, improved service for its customers and citizens. Rubicon’s fleet management technology will be installed in the city’s approximately 100 solid waste vehicles, and a vehicle telematics system also is available for the city’s expanded fleet of more than 1,000 vehicles.

“The RUBICONSmartCity platform helps cities of all sizes leverage data to make smarter decisions about waste, recycling and city operations, leading to improvements in sustainability and quality of life that map to an overall mission to end waste,” Michael Allegretti, chief public strategy officer at Rubicon Global, says. “Using RUBICONSmartCity, the city of Spokane will be able to take the data that is pulled from the waste vehicles and determine the best routes for waste and recycling collections, improve response times and manage pickup services—all designed to deliver an overall improvement in waste and recycling solutions for its residents.”

Rubicon was awarded the three-year contract with the city of Spokane in September, and the city has an option for two, one-year contract renewals.

“The city of Spokane is committed to delivering excellent solid waste collection and disposal services for our citizens at an affordable price,” Scott Simmons, the city’s division director of Public Works and Utilities, says. “We already are a leader in generating renewable energy through our municipally owned and operated waste-to-energy facility. Partnering with Rubicon Global and their smart city technology expands our value to our citizens. Using this new technology, we will be able to operate more efficiently, make business decisions using comprehensive data, enhance our sustainability efforts and respond rapidly to customer needs.”

Tablets loaded with the Rubicon mobile app, as well as onboard plug-in devices, will be placed in the city of Spokane’s fleet of residential and commercial waste and recycling collection vehicles. With the mobile app and plug-in device, the city will be able to take and organize pictures at customer locations, flag locations, dispatch alerts and provide real-time GPS monitoring of each vehicle. The app will also help deliver precise pick-up times, optimize routes and reduce the need for truck repairs.

The technology will provide the city with comprehensive planning data, notably by enabling real-time, transparent information about collection operations, routing, vehicle health, landfill diversion and recycling rates. The data will help the city understand how to improve its collection operations, as well as measure the carbon avoidance from recycling activities and track vehicle emission reduction targets in the city’s solid waste fleet.

RUBICONSmartCity has been rolled out in over 25 cities across the U.S., including Atlanta; Montgomery, Alabama; Santa Fe, New Mexico; Columbus, Georgia; Tyler, Texas; and West Memphis, Arkansas.

Sonoco names new CFO

Sonoco, a diversified global packaging company in Hartville, South Carolina, plans to appoint Julie Albrecht as its vice president and chief financial officer (CFO), effective March 1, 2019.

The company’s current senior vice president and CFO, Barry Saunders, announced plans to retire in March, according to a company news release. Albrecht will assume CFO duties for the company’s 2019 financial year and will report to Rob Tiede, president and CEO. She also serves as a member of the company’s executive committee.

Saunders stepped up as Sonoco’s CFO in May 2011. In this position, he led the company’s financial and accounting operations on a global basis and more recently took over the leadership on the company’s business technology function. According to a Sonoco news release, Saunders joined Sonoco in 1989 after working as an audit manager with Ernst & Young. At Sonoco, Saunders has held various leadership positions over the years.

“Barry has played a crucial role in driving profitable growth across Sonoco’s Consumer and Industrial businesses, as well as being a vital part of the executive leadership team during the development and execution of our current business strategy,” Tiede says. “Barry has built a very strong team of financial leaders throughout our businesses who serve as important business partners across our global operations. I want to personally thank Barry for being a trusted advisor and for his significant contributions to Sonoco throughout his career.”

Albrecht joined Sonoco in March 2017 and has served as its corporate vice president, treasurer and assistant CFO, holding responsibility for the company’s relationships with the credit rating agencies and commercial banks and has handled financing for four acquisitions totaling about $690 million, according to a Sonoco news release.

Eriez appoints new senior director of Asia-Pacific operations and strategy

Eriez Executive Vice President of Strategy and Development Lukas Guenthardt has announced that Jaisen Kohmuench has been promoted to the newly created position of senior director of Asia-Pacific operations and strategy for the Erie, Pennsylvania-based company. In this new role, Kohmuench, who has been with Eriez for nearly two decades, will serve as part of the company’s corporate executive team.

Kohmuench has held numerous titles during his tenure with Eriez. He most recently concluded a three-year expatriate post as managing director of Eriez-Australia. As senior director of Asia-Pacific operations and strategy, Kohmuench’s expanded responsibilities include operational and strategic leadership for all Eriez Asia-Pacific subsidiaries, which consists of Australia, China and Japan.

“Jaisen’s extraordinary knowledge and expertise in Asia-Pacific markets, combined with his incredible drive and superior management skills, will be instrumental in taking our business to the next level in this area of the world,” Guenthardt says. "We are confident that his contributions, both as senior director of Asia-Pacific operations and strategy and as a member of our corporate executive team, will have a tremendous positive impact on Eriez’ overall success.”

Kohmuench attended Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science, a Master of Science and a doctorate in mining and minerals engineering. He also holds a Professional Engineers Certification.

During his career, Kohmuench has been the recipient of numerous awards, written scores of technical papers and made dozens of professional presentations at various domestic and international conferences, the company says. He recently co-chaired Eriez’ first Asian-Pacific Agents Conference (APAC) in Tianjin, China. This event brought together Eriez representatives and sales staff from Asia-Pacific markets to collaborate and strategize growth initiatives.

The two acquired manufacturing plants will allow the company to double its production capacity of ecological packaging manufactured in moulded pulp, according to a Cascades news release. The total cost of the transaction amounts to about $37.4 million.

Both plants manufacture moulded protective packaging that primarily serves the egg and quick-service restaurant industries. The two acquired facilities have a combined workforce of just over 150 employees.

Also, Cascades acquired a majority interest in Falcon Packaging, Greenville, Ohio, which has 31 employees in Ohio, Iowa and Georgia. According to a Cascades news release, these three companies have consolidated sales that exceed $110 million annually.

“These acquisitions give us the opportunity to improve Cascades’ position in the strategic fresh protein and food services packaging markets,” says Mario Plourde, Cascades president and CEO. “They are also in line with our objective to expand our moulded pulp activities, which produce a recycled, recyclable, compostable and biodegradable packaging product that offers highly interesting opportunities against a backdrop of expanding interest in the circular economy. The value of this transaction is in line with current Cascades trading multiple and will be accretive to net earnings.”

Sadoff shifts one facility’s focus to electronics recycling

Fond du Lac, Wisconsin-based Sadoff Iron and Metal Co. has announced it will restructure its facility in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, in response to the region's growing market for electronics recycling and data destruction services.

As part of the restructuring, the newly R2 (Responsible Recycling Practices) certified facility in Oshkosh will exclusively be an e-recycling and data destruction operation and will no longer purchase ferrous and nonferrous scrap metal after Dec. 21. The company will continue to purchase, receive and process scrap metal at its other locations in Wisconsin and Nebraska.

“This is really an opportunity to focus on the Sadoff E-Recycling and Data Destruction business activities in Oshkosh and the surrounding region,” Sadoff CEO Mark Lasky says. “The need for these services is growing in the Fox Valley and around the country. Our vision is to be the preferred choice for recycling in the Midwest.”

Sadoff E-Recycling & Data Destruction, a subsidiary of the family-owned Sadoff Iron & Metal Co., has been in business for five years. The expansion into the electronics recycling field has been a “natural fit,” Lasky says.

“The decision is really more local than global,” he adds. “We see our opportunities expanding in our region for e-scrap and data destruction services.”

Sadoff will offer drop-off containers for ferrous and nonferrous scrap metal at the Oshkosh facility.

Sadoff has been in the metals recycling industry for more than 70 years.